Steyn's try-saving tackle the turning point as Glasgow beat Connacht 33-21 in URC quarter-final

Glasgow Warriors reached the United Rugby Championship semi-finals with a 33-21 victory over Connacht at Scotstoun on Saturday, a result head coach Franco Smith attributed as much to captain Kyle Steyn’s defensive instincts as his two second-half tries.

The match was finely balanced at 7-7 at half-time after Patrick Schickerling cancelled out Cian Prendergast’s early opener for Connacht. But just before the break, Steyn produced a sensational try-saving tackle on Josh Ioane that Smith described as the pivotal moment of the contest.

“I don’t like to single out players and I’ve said it in the changing room as well now, Kyle ended up scoring two tries but it didn’t count as much as that one tackle he turned around,” Smith said. “That just proved his leadership through action and it was as if the whole team bought into it straight away and the half-time chat actually was so much easier after that example.”

Steyn’s two tries after the interval were supplemented by further scores from Josh McKay and Jare Oguntibeju as Glasgow pulled clear of the eighth-seeded Irish province in the second half.

Smith acknowledged his side took time to find their rhythm after a ten-day break from competitive rugby. “I’m really happy with the result. You could see we hadn’t played for 10 days. We weren’t collision-ready in the first 10 or 15 minutes, but that got better. We ended up making enough tackles and Connacht ended up making almost 250 tackles, so we’ve asked a lot of questions to tire them out.”

The victory sets up a semi-final at Murrayfield next Saturday against either the Bulls or Munster, with the final also scheduled for the national stadium should Glasgow advance.

One concern emerging from the win is the fitness of scrum-half George Horne, who left the field in the second half with a hand injury. “We’ll have a look, I think it’s his hand and his thumb he got stood on,” said Smith. “Currently there’s no diagnosis done or prognosis. We’ll have more clarity on Monday.”